Does God Do Evil? Isaiah 45:7

"The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."

There are a few verses in the Old Testament like this one which seem to indicate that God is the author of evil. The word "calamity" here is a Hebrew word that can be, and is translated as "evil" in some versions of Scripture. But this translation is not, in my opinion, correct if it is used in regard to God for these reasons.

In the context of these Old Testament passages, God is talking about bringing judgment upon sinful people and nations. The "evil" being discussed is not evil in the sense of wrong-doing, but righteous judgment on people who deserve everything that God is putting on them. God is the author of righteous judgment on sinners. He is not the author of any type of wrong-doing.

God does allow evil to exist to provide contrast with His goodness and to ultimately make it work out for our good and His glory (see Romans 8:28). God also includes evil in His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11), so He is never surprised by it nor is it forced on Him. But having said all that, contrary to what some over-zealous pastors and theologians teach, God is never, ever, the author of evil. The whole idea that God has to be the cause of absolutely everything that happens in the universe, or His glory as God is diminished, is logically and biblically mistaken.

God can allow evil to happen without directing causing it. As long as He is ultimately in control of all things, and He is, His glory is not diminished one iota. But the problem with God directly committing even one evil act diminishes His glory considerably and makes Him ultimately untrustworthy. How can we trust a God who directly causes evil? We can't. But fortunately we do not have to.

James 1:13 says that, "...God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." Whether the temptation is from within Himself or an external source, God's Word states that He cannot be tempted to do evil, and He doesn't tempt anyone else to do evil which means God never causes or even encourages anyone to do evil. It is clear from James 1:14 that when someone commits evil, it is something that originated from within them, not God.

Now I realize that we still have the thorny issue of God allowing certain evil deeds we think He should have stepped in to prevent. The list is long and many people cannot get past this. But this is where faith has to come into play. Either we believe that God is ultimately good and will make all things right in the end, or we reject that by faith in our own judgment and perception of things. That is our choice. Do we trust ourselves as the final arbiter of what is good, or do we trust God as good even though He allows things that are evil or perceived by us to be evil?

Whatever we decide, as Christians, we cannot say that evil is just an illusion, or that God is the author of evil. Both of those concepts are a product of new age, pagan thought, not biblical Christianity.